Somewhere in Los Angeles right now, Thomas Jane is sitting back in a leather chair, possibly smoking a cigar with one hand and holding a goblet of wine in the other, tilting his head back in a very satisfied state and whispering out loud… “I TOLD YOU SO”.
The 2004 version of “The Punisher” (in which Jane carried the big gun) failed to impress a large audience, but although the movie had some major flaws I ended up having some fun with it and thought the potential was there for an improved sequel. A sequel seemed unlikely considering the lack of box office success that the studio was looking for… but that never stopped Thomas Jane from advocating and campaigning for a sequel. He really liked the character and believed that another Punisher film, with the lessons learned from the mistakes of the first one, could be something pretty special.
Then came the news… there would indeed be another Punisher film… but quickly after that news came he first sign that the project was doomed to fail as the biggest cheerleader for the movie, Thomas Jane himself, thought what he saw coming together was so bad he had to drop out, even though no one wanted the movie more than he did. How badly did he want this movie? This is what he said at the time he dropped out:
“I can’t tell you how completely broken up I am about it. After busting my ass at the gym four days a week for almost two years, watching every character driven action pic that any fan would ask me to watch while I was standing in line buying egg whites and Tuna fish after countless Saturday nights making notes and drinking soda water and munching on seaweed sticks while my daughter slept on my lap to the sound of automatic gunfire, (now she can’t sleep without it. I had to make a tape of automatic gunfire to play in her room at night) after hauling myself to any ‘Guns! Knifes! Ammo!’ show in any small town that I found myself in shooting Killshot or The Mist or Mutant Chronicles, after torn ligaments, screwed up rotator cuffs, thousands of $$$ on ridiculously huge vitamins, overly long conversations with frighteningly tall men about The Fastest Way To Kill Someone With Your Bare Hands, and after a dude refused to sell me a Fatburger at 2am on Santa Monica Blvd, I am, sadly – no, make that heartbrokenly – fuck it – just rip out the heart and stomp it into the pavement a couple of times – pulling out. Punisher fans are already fighting an uphill battle as it is. And I’ve always felt a responsibility to fight that fight for them and with them so that Frank Castle gets the treatment he deserves.”
Now let me be clear here… I’m NOT saying the Prunisher looked doomed because the great Thomas Jane wasn’t going to be in it… I saying that it looked doomed when the guy (whoever that is) who was the most enthusiastic about getting the movie made decided it was looking too horrible for even him to participate in it. That was a BAD sign.
But like all things in Hollywood and the rest of the planet, life moved on and “The Punisher: War Zone” started to take shape. An interesting development with Lexi Alexander coming on as the director (kinda cool to see a woman director fora comic book based action flick) and Ray Stevenson was added as The Punisher himself… but everything else has been dark news.
Early script reviews came out sounding abysmal… the first teaser trailer came out and looked stupid as hell and just failed to capture the Punisher feel… and then came the big hammer… the studio canned the director. Lexi was taken off the project and the editing has been handed over to other people to finish up. YIKES! Can you imagine how bad this thing was looking?
Then at Comic Con they put the Punisher stuff at the most awkward times (an 8pm panel??? Who the hell goes to panels at 8pm?). A press reception at 4pm in the afternoon? It was almost like they were hiding the Punisher at the Con, but didn’t want to flat out cancel their appearance there.
Look, I haven’t seen Punisher: War Zone yet, so I can’t say the movie will suck, nor can I say the movie will rule for certain. However, I can look up at the sky, see tons of dark clouds forming and take a guess that it’s going to rain. Punisher has a lot of dark clouds surrounding it with sounds of rolling distant thunder. I think it’s a pretty safe bet it’s time to pull out your umbrella.
I’m surprised no one has popped back in here to talk about how shitty Punisher Warzone was. The Punisher punches a man in the face, then his head explodes. WTF? I like my movies to be at least believeable.
Hey guys, not to interrupt or anything, just thought I’d let you know that my father, Mark Camacho, plays Pitsy in the new punisher film. I know you probably think I’m lying and thats fine. Just wanted to say that I’d been to the set a couple of times and read the script which I actually quite enjoyed. First off I don’t believe John is lying about believing this post is accurate, but unfortunately it is not. Lexi Alexander is still very involved, my dad recently did ADR on the film and she was with him talking about how SHE had just finished editing and everyone thought the film looked great. Now I NEVER read the Punisher comic books, but I did see the one with the robotic Thomas Jane and for your info the reason Jane is not back is because they were re-inventing the franchise and didn’t want him. Yes originally they wanted to do an official sequel but it never worked out and so they started from scratch without “the great” Thomas Jane. This movie is gonna rock.
Opinions…anyways I liked Dolph Lundgren’s Punisher, I hated Thomas Jane and his “flaming” cars. Anything starring John Travola these days too is just cringe worthy so I’ll take a hacked up Dominic West (he was a good villain in 300) over John Travolta floating around on screen being “bad”.
Call me Cruise (aka crazy) but I actually thought Lexi was a good pick and I have no issue with Ray Stevenson either. He at least LOOKS the age of the Punisher who is no spring chicken at this time. Jane always looked so young to me, a lil too handsome with a “beat me” face.
I am not going in expecting a movie the same calibre as Iron Man, but I am going in expecting brutality, gore and some good ole shoot em up fun where people are dropping like flies. Like the first Punisher where guys were dying left and right, and chicks were not exempt from feeling the wrath!
im not even going to bother with this punisher flick….i really liked Tom Jane as Frank. i felt that he got the spirit of Castle after the death of his family(although i still wonder why they blew his entire family to hell instead of just his wife and kids). A sequel would go deeper into his character. no tom…no way
Thank you, Uncle Joe.
funny, all the guys are saying that this will be a great film because it is based on ennis’ max run….uhhh, where was jigsaw during that run…where do you get a punisher dressed in swat gear and doing machine gun ballet?
it has been acknowledged that they take from ennis, but also the early 90s punisher…the one that failed so miserably that marvel killed off the character….that punisher is fucking boring…as was the lundgren punisher and his bigger fight with the english language.
so now you cast titus pullo and the fan boys exclaim that he looks just like frank…..except he doesnt….he looks like a big limey, which is what he is
they exclaim that he is a better actor than jane…but outside of rome, nothing he has done has been seen outside of britain (except a few guest roles in some american tv shows)
they show you a teaser that is laughable, then follow it up with a music vid that is incomprehensible and has the worst heavy metal song i have ever heard.
they tell you that they havent fired lexi….but now she is a consultant??? which basically means they will keep paying her so she keeps her yap shut
oh, and if you buy the honeymoon bit, ive got some swamp land to sell you in florida
punisher will die with this movie….thereby allowing marvel to buy it back and try again in about 5 years or so
Thank GOD! Someone is on Tom’s side. I have not to date seen a movie he was in that I hated. They actually did release a poster for “The Punisher II”. I don’t mind all the little imperfections of the 2004 flick(They only had 30 mil, and a month’s time, give them a break). Hell, I have both versions sitting in my DVD rack as we speak. I loved the 2004 one(although, I have not yet seen the 1989 one). Honestly. Guy works his fucking heart out for a project, and fucking Lionsgate decides to shaft him. Son of a BITCH! But, to War Zone.
1. Bad choice of an inexperienced director
2. Bad choice of an innapropriate actor
3. Too soon for a remake. Especially with this character.
4. Bad representation of the title character(spinning from a chandelier; KISS MY ASS!)
5. Shafting the one and only supporting fan(Tom)
I pray to god that Marvel Studios retracts their statement that “There will be no R-rated movies from Marvel Studios”, picks up the ashes of the character, and molds something perfect like they did with Iron Man & The Incredible Hulk. If you have any complaints about either film, you either have NO grasp of the true character/story, or your problems will be solved with the sequels. They are perfect representations, and they’re as good as it could get. Right here and now, after hearing that they have fired their own f*cking director, I officially wash my hands of this bullshit, and continue to root for Marvel’s full involvement. I want the hands of the writers and creators to come down like the hands of the Almighty, sucker punch Lionsgate, take back Frank Castle, nourish him, and give us a perfect PUNISHER, so we all don’t have to hear or participate in bitching ANYMORE!
And Hancock was PG-13 while Punisher is on the verge of an NC-17 rating from the looks of the red band trailer.
Hey ZZOMM
Handcock also had the single biggest box office draw movie star today in it… that MIGHT have had something to do with it.
Hancock also didn’t have to fight against the poorly received original from just a few years before. These are totally different situations.
You never know.
All this and a whole lot more was said about Hancock before it came out.
It’s made hundreds of millions and a sequel is being looked at. Go figure.
From another site:
http://movieblog.ugo.com/index.php/movieblog/more/punisher_war_zone_news1/
One of the more gossipy events from Comic-Con was the absence of director Lexi Alexander from the panel discussing Punisher: War Zone. An announcement like “she’s on her honeymoon this weekend” would not have raised so many eyebrows if there hadn’t already been so many rumblings about strained relations between her and the studio, Lionsgate.
We got a call from an inside source, whom we’ll nerdily call Detective Soap, that’s been privy to a lot of the back and forth. He tells me that trouble between the studio and Lexi started months ago when Lionsgate sent her some publicity materials for her approval that she put up on her blog. Punisher fans (like us) gobbled that up and sent that link around, but it wasn’t all part of the marketing campaign that Lionsgate had in mind. (And when you figure that this is the studio behind franchise successes like Saw, figure they know what they’re doing.) When the studio asked her to remove the pics, she went a little bananas, claiming that this was unfair and stifling censorship – a harbinger of overreactions to come.
Since then, reactions to notes and suggestions from the studio – which are completely normal on a film of this size – have been met either with complete ease or raging hostility. “They say she’s a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the source confided.
When it came time to prepare for San Diego Comic-Con, Lexi realized that she was going to be on her honeymoon and saw no reason to change those dates. She was not removed from the panel or forbidden to come, but few at the studio were heartbroken she couldn’t attend. The honeymoon was not a lie or an excuse – that part is actual straight dope.
The funny part is, my source tells me, that the raw footage is fantastic. The visuals are great and there are some awesome action sequences – but like any film of this size it needs tweaking. Alexander’s previous films have been low budget independents and perhaps she’s just not accustomed to the machinations of larger budget filmmaking. There is, indeed, a new post-production team in place (and new composer), folks that have worked closely with the Marvel camp on their recent projects.
The project, though, has not been taken completely out of her hands as some recent internet postings might lead you to believe. She is still contracted as a consultant on the film and is involved in further decision-making. Detective Soap just hopes that it is more of the Jekyll and less the Hyde.
When we have more info, we’ll let you know. Until then – go deep with The Punisher at our Punisher HQ.
I am one of the few the that liked the Thomas Jane as Punisher and I saw the problems it had but I agree with John’s point he’s making on this one.
I have zero interest in this remake.
never believed thomas jane as the punisher. i thought the first movie had flaws and one of them was jane, even though i like the guy, he never looked even remotely like frank castle should. and based only on the trailers from the first movie and this one, i thought this new movie was going to pull it of way better. and when i heard the director from Green Street Hooligans was in on it, i just got my expectations even higher. although what you say here is right enough to think it will (also) suck -and therefore feel disapointed; i consider myself a big fan of punisher- i just wanted to say that thomas jayne should have never been frank castle. that’s it.
Guys, I think I know what is happening here.
Having followed another LGF movie for some time, I’ve been afraid of this happening.
I believe the architect behind the bad press is the fairly newly appointed LGF head honcho Joe Drake.
Multiple sources inside of LGF have claimed that he is dumping 19 movies greenlit by the previous head honcho, in an effort to make the previous guy look like a monger who shouldn’t be in the movie industry, and pushing himself as a saviour who will turn things around with his movies. It would appear that PWZ is among those nineteen movies to be dumped.
One which is known to be among those nineteen is Clive Barker’s “Midnight Meat Train”.
MMT is a hard R horror movie which is quite original, and very unlike Japanese remakes, Saw and Hostel. The horror community has been looking forward to this for a long time.
The movie has been given the seal of approval By Clive Barker himself (and he is known to be extremely picky), the trailer tested as the highest rated trailer in LGF history, and the movie itself has received reviews ranging from very good to stellar in advance screenings and at festivals. The movie has all the makings of a certified hit.
However, its initial release date in May got pushed to an unspecified date for no real reason. According to LGF insiders, this was done for the sole purpose of removing competition from the Joe Drake produced movie that opened on the same date, “The Strangers”. A new release date has been announced for MMT – tomorrow, August 1st. Bet most of you ahd no idea. What was supposed to be wide release is now being dumped into the contractual minimum 100 theaters with zero promotion…and all the theatres are minor ones, located well outside of the major moneymaking cites. A movie which could have been a hit for LGF is being dumped out of sheer spite and malice courtesy of Joe Drake.
I think the IESB article, which is inconsistent with all the other alleged insider scoops, was fed directly by him or his posse to the most anti-PWZ site on the web simply to create bad press and ease their planned dumping of the movie. I think so because all other articles, even the first one from AICN, have consistently claimed that despite the final edit needing work, the raw footage is sold and there are the makings of a good movie in there. Here are some other tidbits:
A PWZ crew member named Pullotalks on imdb just posted a fantastic post there, it’s so good I feel it should be spread beyond imdb
Quote
That IESB article posted by the OP is UTTER BOLLOCKS!!
—-
I’m breaking my silence — and Lionsgate, you’re in my crosshairs.
Punisher: War Zone had a crapload of negative publicity to overcome from the go. It began when Lionsgate switched directions and popular 2004 Punisher lead actor Thomas Jane walked away heartbroken from “something he couldn’t believe in”. Fair enough, Tom’s entitled to his opinion based on his own experience with the project at the time. OUCH.
Then writer Kurt Sutter, who had contributed to the PWZ screenplay early on, chose not to take credit because so little of his own contribution remained, but publicity hounds primed for negativity immediately twisted that to mean that he’d taken his name off it because it sucked. Shall I remind anyone that PWZ writers Nick Santora and Art Marcum, who eventually contributed enough to justify accepting credit, are the creative team that brought audiences Marvel’s successful Iron Man?
Despite this early negativity, PWZ director Lexi Alexander stepped in and managed via her blog at http://lexialexander.com to get many fans behind HER vision for this REBOOT, a vision that had brought new lead actor Ray Stevenson and most everybody else on board. Cast and crew suffered a brutal Montreal winter to bring that vision to bear. When some fans questioned cinematographer Steve Gainer’s colourful lighting in the first teaser, she showed them the colourful panels pulled directly from the comics. When they questioned other artistic choices, she informed them that her role as director required her to deliver a product which appealed to both die-hard fans AND a broader general audience. But she was ALWAYS keen on informing FANS that no matter those choices, she was giving them the MEAT they wanted: Garth Ennis’s violent, bloody, darkly humorous, psychologically tortured, hard-R MAX PUNISHER, set in NEW YORK CITY, pitted against one of the vigilante’s most memorable adversaries: Jigsaw. Many who had been on the fence before were won over by the new redband trailer and music video from San Diego Comic-Con 2008 which finally offered a peek at what Lexi had delivered!!
LIONSGATE FILMS: YOU greenlit the screenplay, YOU greenlit this tough-as-nails Oscar-nominated director, she delivered what YOU’d agreed upon, and YOU caused her positive publicity machine to grind to a halt. You know, while Gale Ann Hurd and Ray and Julie Benz and Tim Bradstreet were busting their arses to garner positive publicity for PWZ at Comic-Con, Tom Jane was in attendance with his own project and grumpily told PWZ fans that PWZ is “a piece of sh-t”. Tom left PWZ before it even settled on a name, so he can’t offer any reasonable opinion on what’s going to the screen, but many actors’ roles have been recast before without QUITE this level of bitterness (think oft-recast Batman / Dark Knight franchise). Then a mere DAY after all the GOOD publicity generated by Comic-Con, your own “insider” broke the “bad news” to aintitcool.com that you were limiting Lexi’s further involvement because she revolted when you changed the rules (anybody still buying the “Lexi’s fired” rubbish? No? Good!), and Lexi scrubbed her blog of all PWZ material to replace it with a very loud nondisclosure-contracted ‘silence’. Two artists at OPPOSITE ends of the spectrum and you managed to piss off BOTH?? Brilliant! PERHAPS THE MESSAGE HERE IS THAT DEVOTED, INFLUENTIAL, OUTSPOKEN ARTISTS WHO SINK THEIR BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS INTO THEIR JOBS GET RATHER CROSS WHEN THEY’RE JERKED ROUND. I’m curious what it’s going to take to crack good-natured Ray, who flew 6000 miles to promote your film while you sat on that ticking bomb.
As for those who HAVE seen Lexi’s cut, Deborah Del Prete (producer of Frank Miller’s highly anticipated “The Spirit”) said she loved it and thinks it will really please fans. Another source (since lost to me) posted to a message board: “A bunch of us have seen her cut and are aware of the changes the studio wants to make and trust me, no Punisher fan would agree with those changes. If the suits would have any balls at all, they would find a dozen hardcore Punisher fans on the web, invite them to a screening of the director’s cut and a screening of the studio’s cut, to see which they prefer.” Which, incidentally, is what Lexi had proposed not terribly long before she went ‘silent’. Anybody else claiming to have a negative review of Lexi’s cut invariably turns out to be another Lionsgate “insider”. Would Lionsgate care to remind us why their own employees are so keen to dash to the press slagging off their company’s property?!
LIONSGATE: Stop jerking EVERYBODY around. YOU are responsible for the bad publicity this production continues to suffer. This isn’t something you simply “blame the director for” and “fix in post” with “the Hulk editors” and a clapped-on metal score. You might start by repairing a few bridges you burnt. Countdown to 5 December US release, tick follows tock, GO!
TOM JANE: If PWZ tanks, we’ll all join you in a collective “thanks for the piece of sh-t, Lionsgate!” But do be fair with your pre-release criticism.
TIM BRADSTREET & STEVE GAINER: You both handled disagreements with admirable civility. Now why can’t EVERYBODY do that??
PUNISHER FANS: It ain’t about Jane vs Stevenson. Sh-t flows uphill, and LGF has rained it back down on them both. If you liked Lexi’s vision for Frank Castle and the new redband trailers showing her footage, you may yet like the finished product. Just keep your umbrellas handy till the shower of B.S. clears.
… and feel free to copy this message anyplace it might help. Thanks. I’m out.
sorry but with this
“I am saying 8.5 is saying shit cause that’s what myself gave to the movie”
i meant
I am not saying 8.5 is saying shit …
Okay, I just watched the red band trailer, and this movie is just the type of shit I want to see, mindless violence, and people getting their faces shot off with shotguns. As soon as I saw that, I knew this movie would get my money. Haji
Did anybody read the source material that this version of the movie is based off of? The punisher is a fucking psycho killer, does everybody get that? If they can convey half of what happens in the comics(Marvel Max Editon)this will be a good movie. No offense to TJ, but his punisher was to soft, Ray(Titus Pullo)Stevenson looks just like the punisher from Ennis’s run. And if you’ve never seen Ray Stevenson in anything go rent Rome The HBO series to get a feel for him, he’s a fucking badass killer in that too. Haji
Hey John
oh man calm dawn , i didn’t know you became angry this easy (i am the Buttonpusher !!!)
I am saying 8.5 is saying shit cause that’s what myself gave to the movie
But you nonstoply wrote articles about TDK not being that good and so on
I have no problem with your oppinion but since Wanted you seems like the guy who have problem with others oppinion
Man be cool I am in peace and want to go back in one piece too.
yeeeeaahhh….i loved the trailer =]
and rey stevenson looks perfect and its going to be awsome- no one will watch it but that doesnt mean it wont be good…i bet lots of people went to see coneheads sooo…..
The Punisher was a terrible Punisher film. Every time I have read a Punisher comic it normally involved the Punisher going about his business gun blazing where as the Thomas Jane Punisher was using all these mind games etc and the only time he really opened up with the fire power was towards the end. At least this Punisher looks to have a good gun to bullet ratio and hey at least the trailer didn’t have a crappy hip-hop sound track
@Jonesy:
“It may be politically correct to hire a woman to direct an action movie, but it wouldnt be a smart reason to, especially for this movie. “
PC has nothing to do with it. They simply went to a person whose work they liked.
” I think the chances youre going to find a woman with the right… attitude to make a kickass, macho, violent… action movie is very small.
Part of this comment makes sense; there are not enough women directors period. But that does not mean they can’t do an equally good job as a male director. For those women directors who have done action/films with “violence”, in my view, the few have done really well in quality.
Kathy Bigelow comes easily to mind.
But there’s another flip side to that comment. You forgot about producing. Gale Anne Hurd is one of the producers of this new film; she produced the previous film. I’m pretty sure she could meet your above criteria, since she also produced many an action and sci-fi film, including three Terminator films.
“And if they hired a woman to direct, that makes me wonder about who they hired to screenwrite.”
Who they hired to write and/or re-write is irrelevant; Kurt Sutter wrote stuff as did Stuart Beattie (Collateral) among them. There were simply too many cooks in the kitchen and, as Sutter claims, the studio watering down the work. By the way, if you were to look at the list of scribes, not one of them is a woman. Interesting, don’t you think?
So did any of you actually watch the comic con footage?
What I heard was Lexi had bad feelings over the first trailer released because it didn’t depict how the movie was gonna be at all.
The comic-con footage definitely looks like a different movie than the first trailer. Nonstop blood, gore, gunfights, and a villain that looks creepier than the Joker. The actor playing him looks complete insane with his face all stitched up.
The punisher, himself, looks like a stonecold klller. No more emotion left, just revenge. Loving it so far. Jane was too soft wtih his movie star good looks….bleh. I’m alright with Jane but he wasn’t a good punisher (look-wise).
I think it’ll suck. Liked the first though.
If Jane passed on Punisher 2 to make The Mutant Chronicles then I can pretty much assure you that P2 is going to blow balls.
Mutant Chronicles is without a doubt the most pathetic shit I’ve seen in years. It’s like if you mix the quality of a crappy Star Wars fan film with a Sci-Fi Channel original movie.
It’s embarrassing to everyone involved and is going to bomb. Bomb I tell you.
Me of all people actually agreed with Johnny Boy about the Dark Knight. Very good movie, but not the “Citizen Kane” of crime thrillers as all the so called experts and fan boys were declaring.
What did they do with the $180 Mil it cost to make Dark Knight???
When you compare if to say the budget of Hellboy II (which was a great flick) which was only $80mill, you wonder if that whats differentiats great directors from each other.
I will take on any woman on this earth and win…why? oh yeah because I have a penis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Sina,
Sorry, but what the fuck are you talking about? I gave The Dark Knight an 8.5 out of 10. Since when is an 8.5 out of 10 “talking shit”?
The movie is not perfect and does get over hyped. I pointed out the flaws of the film honestly. Holy shit get over yourself… are you saying that YOUR opinion is so perfect, that anyone who doesn’t agree with you must just be “talking shit”??? Are you really that high on yourself???
I enjoyed Green Street Hooligans and did not know a woman directed it when I first saw it. I would say her gender has not importance in the making of this movie. Her relative inexperience may but not the fact that she’s a ass kicking chick
@ Jonesy
That woman you are talking about is boxing champion (kind of) and she can kick your ass and break your neck
I’m not a femenist (i totaly am against it) but dude, think before saying shit
==
and John something friendly for you
You are starting to believe in yourself more you should cause some guys that think with their stomatch come here and say “you the man” and all that shit
You were saying shit about TDK (honestly i beleive it was ’cause you just wanted to be different) but even a guy with no brain knew you were saying shit
Yea, people are proclaiming Jane’s punisher to Bale’s Batman. As in, “Jane will be the only Punisher for me”. WTF?
Janes punisher was surprising in that it was good whereas no one was expecting anything from it, but definitely wasn’t the MAX version of Punisher. The new movie is based on Garth Ennis’s run on the Marvle Max line of the book.
Yea, people are proclaiming Jane’s punisher to Bale’s Batman. WTF?
Janes punisher was surprising in that it was good whereas no one was expecting anything from it, but definitely wasn’t the MAX version of Punisher. The new movie is based on Garth Ennis’s run on the Marvle Max line of the book.
@jonsey
I hopped over to Lexi Alexander’s blog… she’s a former World Karate and Kickboxing Champion so she could probably kick the asses of a lot of people that read this blog, and in my mind gives her cred when making an action flick. She’s also done a lot of work in stunts and extreme sports so she understands motion and how to capture it on film. So if your comment simply calls from the fact that she doesn’t have a penis, then you’re way off base. This girl definitely has balls.
Seriously people when did Tom Jane became a goood actor that some of you are really found of him?
Both previous Punisher Movies sucked I don’t see the point you guys liked them ?
I loved the trailer and so did many people that are comic readers like me
and it was really new for me to see Alexander being fired
please give me a link to the official news not just some hunch
Everything looks bad about it….
except you didn’t once mention the actual comic-con footage that redeemed all doubts about it.
I have faith. The new guy looks way more badass than Jane.
I liked the trailers but we all know that is no exact indicator that i will like the movie. I am still hoping for a good film. surely ray stevensen will be as good a punisher as thomas jane?? His acting skills are really good, watch Rome, he’s one of the best!!!
Maybe a better known director could have helped this movie??
John…great read.
T-Vo, why do I get the feeling that you thought AVP-R was awesome? :-P
Vic
T-VO
Its all well and good that you feel that way. The beauty of these boards is u can freely express your opinion.
However when THIS MANY things have gone wrong with one movie it CANT be a good thing.
Hence John expressing his opinion that its “Doomed”
It may be politically correct to hire a woman to direct an action movie, but it wouldnt be a smart reason to, especially for this movie. That was a bad sign for me right there. I think the chances youre going to find a woman with the right… attitude to make a kickass, macho, violent… action movie is very small.
And if they hired a woman to direct, that makes me wonder about who they hired to screenwrite. These dont seem to have been the right people to make this movie.
Thomas Jane is a good actor, but he didn’t feel like the Punisher to me. He has too much of a nice guy look and doesn’t look anything close to Italian like the comic book character.
I actually like the trailer as did most people. Its a movie based on a comic book with guy wearing a skull on his chest. As long as people get fucked up it, then in my eyes its a success. Its the fucking Punisher not Dune!
I saw the guy who is playing this Punisher on the G4 comic-con coverage. He does not strike me as a good Punisher.
Nothing can save this movie for me. Because Tom Jane made the role, for me, already. That’s the Punisher I know.
T-Vo must really be hoping that this movie will rule..its kinda sad lol
Thomas Jane was The Punisher so without him i just dont see this movie having any chance but hey im a big Tom Jane fan hell i even liked him in The Sweetest Thing and that shows his diversity he can play in a chick flick and turn around and play a badass. To me thats what a good actor can do.
The first Punisher flick was amazing to me, the budget was very small and shooting time was retarded in the world of film making it was something like 30 days for the whole film. Thats nuts for a Marvel flick. But hey Jane, Hensleigh, Travolta, Patton, They all got down to brass tacks and got that shit done.
After they did that and how the film turned out i was blown away and i was sooooo damn pumped to hear that there was gonna be a sequel……Then i heard that Hensleigh walked away from it then Jane followed and at that point it was like “well fuck this.”
Bottom line i dont think this film will come close to the quality of the first period but hey like ive said…im bias to Thomas Jane.
Hey T-Vo
This is a blog dude. The title is my opinion. If I had seen the movie, I wouldn’t say it was doomed to suck, but I would already know if it sucked. So what you’re saying makes no sense.
This movie is doomed to suck. Just look at the facts I listed. If you see the same facts and come to s different conclusion, then that’s totally cool, but there’s nothing wrong with the conclusions I’m coming to.
So are you saying you have NEVER EVER EVER said a movie looked like it would be great or looked like it would be bad before seeing it? Because that’s all I’ve done in this article.
The tile of “the Unfortunate Reality” is a lot better than “Why Punisher is Doomed”. People seeing that headline will probably not even read the entire article (which I did)and yet more rumors of unhappy director and actor. Hmmmm, seems to me the same things were being said about the Hulk.
John, most opinions are based on facts, and facts are what base peoples opinions. Saying the movie is doomed makes you sound like a hater since you haven’t even see it yet. I sure hope your are right because if you are wrong, it will suck to be you.
Wow, from what I’m reading it looks like Marvel is going to have a lot of catching up to do. After The Dark Knight being such a huge success it must be scary for them knowing that Wolverine and Punisher have the possibility of being major flops. thank goodness for the Avengers!
I hear ya John…
From the outset its been nothing but bad news regarding this movie.
A couple other notes you may not have known:
1. The first draft of the script was written by Kurt Sutter (he’s been a head writer/producer on one of the best shows on TV :The Shield). After seeing the changes the studio made to the script he told them to “take his name off it”. Another bad sign…
2. Not only has Lexi Alexander been taken off the project..but shes been given a gag-order by Lionsgate!!! She cant say a damn thing. If you look at her blog it has a nice image that sums things up.
http://lexialexander.com/
Combine all this stuff and it just seems like a train-wreck waiting to happen.
It sucks to hear all the hard -work that Jane put in going to waste.
Is it me or is Lionsgate seem to be changing the way they operate as a studio?? I remember when they started out they took films that no other studio would take (NBK, Monster’s Ball, Frailty, etc) They took RISKS and profited from them..now it seems like there just your plain-ole, run-of-the-mill, profit-over-quality hollywood studio
sigh
No Thomas Jane…..no thank you.
Sorry, it was Ain’t It Cool News, not Superherohype
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37642
…and I am *still* waiting for the release of the Elmore Leonard adaptation ‘Killshot’, which has been collecting dust for the past two years at TWC. I just want the Wienstiens to release the Diane Lane/Jane/Mickey Rouke thriller already. Even if it is right to the DVD shelf if nobody but me gives a damn about it.
Which brings me to my next point, actually.
Is part of Jane’s frustration not just because he championed a second Punisher film (with or without Jon Hensliegh) and deduced (correctly) that with all the delays it was time to move on and when he moved on, then it wasn’t “a sequel” but a “restart”? That another film he worked his ass off hasn’t been released? And “The Mist”, as freaking awesome that was, had trouble finding an audience last year?
I’d be a little pissed too.
***
Lexi Alexander…fired?? Holy shit, John. That’s the first time I heard that news. If that is true, it is **never** a good sign, right or wrong, when the locks to the editing room have been changed. When crap like that happens, the film turns out to be a mess… either by fixing something that wasn’t broken, making the film more worse than it already is (for sake of coherence) …
But the door swings both fucking ways, and if the film is a stinker, I do not put full blame on the director or the actors in the parts, even the writers (which they were many, one even being vocal about how rough things were going)…
I put equal blame on the “comics fans” and Marvel.
Marvel because this thing should have been up and running years ago, the bad guy (Jigsaw) being announced right from the get go; the idea of relocating the action to a more urban area, everything.
The “comics fans” because nobody can really please half these cretins, who can never be satisfied with any goddamn thing. This is the third time Punisher has been on a screen and still nobody’s happy! Of all the comic book characters Marvel has, why isn’t this character a slam dunk???
Look, I can understand folks not happy with the 89/90 Lundgren pic because of the in-house drama between producer Robert Kamen and then writer Boaz Yakin Yakin fought tooth and nail to keep the iconic skull in and was fired because of it- but with no skull, it “wasn’t” The Punisher. I can understand that.
As much as I liked the 2003 pic, I can understand some folks not warming up to Travolta as a made up “new” foe, (which I slightly agree-the real bad guy was played by Will Patton, at least in a storytelling sense) but for what it was, it was really good. But nooo…The Punisher hangs around Tampa,Florida not NYC so it’s not “The Punisher”
WTF happens? They stall the sequel which Jonathan Hensliegh wants to do, which star Tom Jane wants to do…everyone… and when nearly everyone has left house, they write in some of of the supporting characters in The Punisher comics so the “rabid fans” will be pleased. Never mind that said supporting characters (such as Mircrochip) are hated, hated, hated by many.
And another restart too. Are restarts so soon a good thing? As much as I loved the recent Hulk, it does seem like “the fans” really didn’t show. Those that did, bitched. Bitched!!
And now I expect some serious bitching on Punisher War Zone. Guess what? If this was the fucking result, they should have given the role back to Dolph Lundgren. He wouldn’t take it, of course but what’s the difference?
But the way Jane was treated speaks volumes. It was a part he signed to do, wanted to do, waited in line to do, and they fucked him.
I like the thomas jane punisher. And thought Jane rocked the shit out of that role, I dont know about this new guy. That quote from Jane makes me like him even more, that was amazing, so yeah, if hes gone Im gone.
But then there’s that coupled with the crappy trailer and all that bad buzz will make me wait for rent on this now.
Maybe they will bring jane back for the punisher in Avengers….I know thats impossible but I think it would be pretty cool.
Actually T-Vo, the article that I read on Superherohype.com about this was far more damning.
Do you think Marvel studios would even try to make another one on their own? I mean Hulk did poorly with just one bad movie to it’s name, The Punisher will have two (because everyone knows Dolph Lundgren was awesome)
Perhaps we’ve seen the last attempt at a Punisher film…
Hey T-VO
There is nothing false in my post. It’s all fact. Jane thought it was terrible to start. Lexi got fired. They buried it at Comic Con. These are all real things.
On a blog, I give opinion… and my opinion looking at all this stuff is that the movie is doomed.
Are you saying no one should ever have an opinion about anything or any movie at all… about its chances for success or failure… ever… unless they’ve seen the movie?
IF the movie ends up being good, its posts like this that will doom it at the box office. Far too many so called “internet movie critics” have slow blog days and as the saying goes its not bad news that travels fast but “false news”. Why don;t you wait to see the film before spewing out the bad news??
I knew it was doomed since day one. Why? Because no one was buzzing for it. No one cares. The trailer didn’t help either followed by all this bad news.
R.I.P Punisher
Sigh, you’re probably right John. I consider myself a Punisher fan and have enjoyed the previous two films in spite of their flaws. What I was hoping for from this one was something incredibly simple; a bad ass guy with a machine gun chopping mobsters to pieces in New York.
In some ways, the best Punisher film wasn’t even a Punisher film; it was the Stallone movie ‘Cobra’. That’s all i was asking for. Not even something that was well written, just a classic 80’s style action picture. But it’s not too late to hope for something fun is it?
Yup, looks like a train wreck a-comin’ down the tracks…
That thrash-metal soundtrack on the latest trailer makes me want to run screaming in the opposite direction.
Vic